Racker Culture

Every year a group of Rackers, their friends and family members get together to participate in a great charity called Extra Life. The main event is a marathon 24-hour game-a-thon full of every imaginable computer, console and tabletop game. Every penny raised goes to the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

At Rackspace, we pride ourselves on driving creative conversations by bringing together thinkers with diverse experiences, skill sets and perspectives. That’s why on Saturday we were incredibly excited to welcome a sold out crowd to our global headquarters for the fourth rendition of TEDx San Antonio.

One of the great things about working at Rackspace is that I constantly find myself surrounded by people who never want to stop learning. Rackers, myself included, share an unquenchable thirst to know more about the latest technologies, the values that define our communities and the strengths of each other.

The maturation of cloud computing is driving global growth, and the demand for multilingual support. Since a relatively small percentage of companies invest in formal language training programs, professionals have begun to rely upon translation apps to cope with the increasing volume of international requests. However, in the expanding global market a deep understanding of local culture is needed to provide quality support, and for that you need more than just an extensive vocabulary. While translation apps may seem like a great short term solution, failing to address the impact of language barriers can be costly to companies in the long run. Despite their usefulness, translation apps just can’t cut it when it comes to customer service.

When it comes to community support, Rackspace is generous in giving back. As part of our second quarter Rack Gives Back program, San Francisco Rackers voted to make charitable donations to multiple organizations that focus primarily on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).Winners included the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Open Oakland and the Ada Initiative. But Rackers made the largest charitable gift to Black Girls Code (BGC).

One of our core values at Rackspace is “Treat Rackers Like Friends and Family.” This value is a huge part of who we are as individuals, and it’s something deeply embedded within the fabric of our company. That’s why it’s pretty common to hear stories about Rackers taking care of each other. What we’ve learned over the last few years is that when we band together, we can create something of value that’s greater than ourselves.

This summer, I had the opportunity to work as a marketing intern at the Rackspace headquarters in San Antonio. My first impression of the company was how amazingly vibrant and colorful the office is. There aren’t many interns who can boast of having a slide, picnic tables, beach umbrellas and food trucks at their workplace! Prior to joining the marketing team, I had heard through word of mouth that Rackspace is one of the most exciting and progressive places to work. Now, after 10 weeks, I can say that my experience at the Castle has truly evidenced this. There is a strong sense of family among all Rackers, and the people here are always looking for ways to help each other in any way possible. It is perhaps this shared bond that helps Rackspace retain its unique culture, even as it crosses the 5,000-plus employee milestone.